The History And Science Behind Sand Timers: A Short Guide

Many people may think of the sand timer as an outdated trapping of a bygone age. With instant access to a timer on your phone anywhere you go, what is the point of using ages-old technology? You would be surprised at the applications of hourglasses and sand timers, regardless of whether they are used by children or adults.

We will be going over a bit of the history of sand timers, and how they came to be one of the dominant forms of timers. Once we have given a short overview of the historical value of sand timers, we will go over the scientific principles behind sand timers and how they function.

History Of The Hourglass

There is quite a bit of history behind sand timers and hourglasses. There are several references to hourglasses around the time of 150 - 300 BC. Though there is no concrete evidence of their existence during this period, there are several works of art which represent devices which closely resemble hourglasses.

The first concrete evidence that we have of hourglasses being used in Europe dates back to around 1500 years later. During the middle ages, hourglasses became surprisingly common as the advent of mechanical clocks brought the measuring of time to the attention of most people.

Before the middle ages, the common peasant had few reasons to measure the passage of time in a way besides looking at the position of the sun. As churches began to implement mechanical clocks to measure the time of services and other functions, more and more people needed a way to tell the passage of time.

Beyond the need to measure the duration of religious ceremonies, people also needed a method to keep track of their breaks from work and cooking times. The use of hourglasses became more and more common as people found a need to measure the times of these activities.

The hourglass gained such a measurable amount of popularity due to its relative ease of construction. While the creation of an hourglass does require a rather skilled glass blower, it does not make use of any rare materials or complex skills like the manufacture of mechanical clocks does.

During the middle ages, artisans who were skilled enough to make mechanical clocks were rather rare, so most households resorted to an hourglass as a method of measuring shorter times. Hourglasses also found widespread use of ships during this period. Since hourglasses would be reliable on a rocking, swaying deck, they were ideal for this use.

Beyond simply measuring the time of journeys, hourglasses on ships were also used to facilitate navigation, as navigation is nearly impossible without an accurate way to keep time. Hourglasses were integral for more than just the keeping of time.

Science Behind Sand Timers

We will now move on to the science behind sand timers. While sand timers and hourglasses may seem rather simple at first glance, they require some rather precise thought and effort when it comes to their construction. After all, an inaccurate timepiece is almost as bad as no timepiece whatsoever.

The main consideration to make when designing a timepiece is the ratio between the size of the hole and the size of the particles that make up the sand timer, regardless of whether it is sand or marble dust. By knowing the size of both of these aspects, one may then calculate the rate of flow from the top to the bottom.

Using this flow rate, one can then carefully measure out the amount of sand that is necessary for a certain period. This may require a small amount of trial and error as it is rather difficult to ensure that you put the perfect amount of sand into your hourglass on the first try.

Depending on the quality of your hourglass, it may be off by a few seconds or milliseconds. This is to be expected from a product in this category which does not cost an inordinate amount of money. If you are looking for the most precise time possible, you must be prepared to pay a little more than your typical hourglass timer.

The design of an hourglass also depends greatly on the material which is used to measure the time. Contrary to what you may think, sand is often not used in hourglasses. This is due to the irregular shape of sand particles, which may have a negative effect on the consistency with which time may be measured.

Beyond inconsistency, there are more reasons why sand is not a good fit for a sand timer. The coarse nature of sand means that it will wear down your hourglass over time, changing the flow rate, therefore changing the amount of time that it measures. In place of sand, there are several alternatives to choose from.

The most common choice when it comes to filling an hourglass is marble dust, due to its relatively similar shape for most granules. It is also far less coarse than sand so that it will work well in your hourglass. There are other choices available too, including tiny balls, somewhat akin to marbles, which ensure that the flow rate will be as constant as possible.

As you can see, the science behind sand timers is more complex than one would imagine at first. As with any other form of time measuring instrument, it is important to ensure that it is as precise as possible. Precision in timekeeping is one of the most key qualities to search for.

Conclusion

While the amount of effort that goes into designing a sand timer is not as high and impressive as that of master crafted watches, it is still an impressive process. The manufacture of all time measuring equipment is a fascinating subject, and hourglasses are no exception to that rule.